UK-Odd Summary (Reuters)

Extra bite -- Texan faces charges over snake vodka

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas man is facing charges forselling liquor without a license after he was found peddlingbottles of vodka containing dead baby rattlesnakes. BobPopplewell, who runs "Bayou Bob's Brazos River RattlesnakeRanch" tourist attraction west of Fort Worth, was believed tobe selling the vodka in the Asian community, where snakes areseen having aphrodisiac properties, state authorities said.

Dinosaur fossil found on bus in Peru

AREQUIPA, Peru (Reuters) - Officials found the fossil of agiant dinosaur jawbone while investigating a suspicious packageon a bus in the mountains of Peru on Tuesday. The fossil,weighing some 19 pounds, was found in the cargo hold of thebus, which was headed for the capital of Lima, and had beensent on the bus company's package service.

Man flees home half naked to evade mouse

BERLIN (Reuters) - A man in Germany fled his home halfnaked for cold, snow-swept streets to escape a mouse in hisliving room, authorities said on Thursday. "He said there wasnothing he was more afraid of," police in Goettingen said in astatement.

Study finds Clinton related to Jolie and Obama to Pitt

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The U.S. presidential candidatesmay have star qualities -- and they also have stars in theirfamilies, according to a genealogical study linking HillaryClinton to Angelina Jolie and Barack Obama to Brad Pitt. TheNew England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) in Boston onWednesday released a study in which it traced the family treesof all three presidential candidates to find they all hadfamous relatives, both dead and alive.

Peru's Fujimori pleads to take off socks at trial

LIMA (Reuters) - Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimoriapologized for not wearing socks to his trial on Wednesday andfor falling asleep in the previous court session, when afrustrated judge rang a bell to wake him. Fujimori, 69, saidmedication he takes to improve his circulation and marathoncourt sessions three times a week have left him exhausted, witha bad back and aching legs.

Russian farmer sues space agency for falling rocket

BARNAUL, Russia (Reuters) - A shepherd is suing Russia'sspace agency for compensation after he said a 3-metre-longchunk of metal from a space rocket fell into his yard, justmissing his outdoor toilet. Boris Urmatov, who is asking for 1million roubles (21,000 pounds) from the Roskosmos agency,lives in a small village that lies underneath the flight pathof rockets taking off from the Baikonur launchpad Russia leasesin nearby Kazakhstan.

Ryanair boss fails to back own horse in 33-1 win

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's famedacumen and self-confidence briefly deserted him when he failedto back his own horse Hear The Echo to win the Irish GrandNational at odds of 33-1. The outsider ridden by Paddy Floodand trained by Michael 'Mouse' Morris easily knocked 6-1favourite Royal County Star into second place at Ireland's topsteeplechase on Monday.

Dubai restaurant gives discount for bugs

DUBAI (Reuters) - A group celebrating a birthday at a Dubaidiner were cheered by a 25 percent discount but not necessarilythe reason: "Bug on food". The restaurant cut the bill forseven customers at a birthday dinner after they found fourinsects crawling around their meals, the Gulf News reported onTuesday.

South Koreans can afford to lose trousers... maybe

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans may find they can afford tolose their trousers but not their shirts; drink a bit moresoju, the cheap national liquor, but not beer; and wash theirhair and clothes more often but not their hands. The newlyinaugurated government released a list of 52 consumer goodswhose prices it wants to control to help ease rising costs inthe face of soaring energy prices and the falling Korean won.

Canadian gophers notch a win in man-rodent battle

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A war on gophers waged by twoCanadian men went awry this weekend when a device used to blastthe rodents in their holes sparked a massive grass fire in arural area near Calgary, Alberta, causing more than C$200,000(99,000 pounds) in damages. Despite a ban on fires in thetinder-dry area of Springbank, just northeast of Calgary's citylimits, two men went into a field to kill gophers using adevice called a Rodenator, fire officials said on Monday.